Half of Me

It hadn't occurred to Melanie that she was supposed to talk to people at a club, let alone mingle with strangers and let them buy you drinks. So, when she agreed to tag along with Cassie And Jen, her two best friends since kindergarten, no one warned her that any guy with an ounce of an ego was going to talk to anything that looked remotely feminine.

"God, he is staring right at you, Mel." Jen ignored the dramatic eyeroll and swatted her friend's shoulder. This only made her sink into the velvet sofa even more as Cassie teased her hair with her fingers.

"It's okay if she doesn't want to interact with him," the woman defended, crossing on leg over the other before wiggling her fingers in the air at the man looking in their direction. "He can stare at me instead."

Jen cackled at this, giving Cassie the right amount of time to stand and make her way over to the man.

It didn't take long for her to come right back over, her dark lips turned down into a contemptuous frown. She held out her hand to Mel, who only stared in confusion.

"C'mon, get up."

"What?"

"He's asking for you. Now get up, I'm gonna be your wingman."

It took a few more moments of silence for Cassie to grow impatient. Mel gazed over Cassie's hip to get a good look at him. He was cute. A chiseled jaw, hair slicked back into a quiff, a charming grin; but not entirely her type. Even if she were to say no, Cassie, being the boldest one of the three, would have dragged her over kicking and screaming anyway. She wasn't going to deny her friend when she had that look in her eye. Besides, she wasn't ever going to see this guy again. He was going to pay for her drink and then it'd be over. Right?

"This is Melanie."

Before she could even realize what was happening, the two girls were already at the bar counter. Cassie was waving over the bartender, and Melanie was rioting inside.

This is going to be a fucking nightmare.

"Ludwig." he replied, ignoring the fact that Cassie was there too. She took this as a sign, a big one, one that said Find Someone Else, Lady. Much to his dismay, she hated signs like that. So she continued.

"This is her first time at a club, she's a little new." Cassie announced over the music, earning a homicidal grin from her crimson haired friend.

"That's okay, this isn't my usual scene either."

Literally, Cas, take a hint. We have to leave. He obviously wasn't staring at us. You were imagining things. Please stop. Please.

"That's so funny," she responded. "You're so funny!"

Melanie, who had enough of Cassie's weird drunken wingman flirting, reached for her shoulders and turned her towards the direction of Jen, who, from afar, was already on her third drink.

"We should go. I'm so sorry, she's a little much."

As they started to head off, Melanie felt fingertips press into her shoulder. Ludwig was reaching over to get her attention as Cassie, now fully distracted by something else entirely, was walking off.

Once he had her in his gaze, he nodded his head towards the entrance. With one glance back towards her friends, she knew they'd be okay on their own. Anything to get out of the flashing lights and pulsing beats.

Melanie followed the man outside, dodging flocks of clubgoers and it's passerbys. The two stepped to the side of the entrance, and Melanie made it a point to stay within earshot of the bouncer. Just in case.

Now that it was quiet, Melanie could focus. "Sorry," she said again, "Cassie is a little.. Strong."

"Like a fine wine." He responded, feigning a look of exaggerated sophistication. This got her.

"More like, uh, rubbing alcohol." she corrected, earning a nod. This seemed to break the ice. Before long, the two got talking on basic conversational points. Jobs, schooling, interests, the like.

Neither Ludwig nor Melanie noticed the direction it was taking them, or even how late into the night it had become. As the pair poured into their conversation, the heels came off, and the air was relaxed. It wasn't until the bouncer was leaving that Melanie realized she should get going.

"Well," Ludwig smiled calmly, pleasantly. His features were soft and genuine. "do you need a ride home? I can call an uber if it's not any trouble."

"No, no, My friends and I took the train here. I don't even know if they've left by now." Melanie replied, feeling a little apprehensive as to where her friends went. Maybe they were both bewitched by some other enticing looking dude, or maybe they were going to get her and saw that she was already deep in conversation and left her to it. Those two really wanted her to get laid. That was exactly why they were here in the first place. Well, thatcwas what it turned into

Earlier that night, they convinced Melanie that they were only going downtown to windowshop and look cute. This was only a half truth. The three girls landed themselves in a nightclub, much to her dismay. Once her friends discovered that not only has Melanie never been to a club, she had never experienced a one night stand, and that had to change.

Before the man could suggest an alternative, there was another much deeper male voice fromwhat felt in Melanie's head like every direction.

"Stupid little puppy with his kill in his mouth, not even bothering to eat it." It cooed, before a figure stepped out of the alleyway. A dark mess of hair hid the visage of a tall male with a mask over his mouth and nose. "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to play with your food?"

Melanie froze. The unfamiliar look on Ludwig's face turned from alert to genuine disgust.

"You're pretty shitty at picking your battles, y'know that, Corpse?"

What?

A deep, venomous laugh filled the air like humidity. It made Melanie squirm.

"I know exactly what I'm doing, Ludwig."

His gaze, from what she could see, turned on her.

"This man is dangerous," she could hear the glint of joy in his otherwise terrifying voice. "Aren't you gonna run?"

Melanie was speechless. The two obviously had some history, perhaps it was a long standing comraderie that turned sour. Maybe it was genuine hatred through and through. Was he right? Was Ludwig dangerous? She was just referred to by this new face as 'kill', she was sure that Ludwig couldn't have been the wrong person to be with right now. Melanie was sure Ludwig's side was the right one to be on, but alas, the night was young.

Corpse laughed again, genuinely amused to see the look of confusion and terror on the girl's face. She realized this because soon after, she stoned her jaw and straightened her shoulders. No way would some shadow dwelling freak get her to collapse.

"He was just about to give me a ride, actually." She declared, lifting a brow in Ludwig's direction. This got a shifty look from him.

"Actually, Iiiiiii... Don't own a car. Hah.. Yeah, we should run."

Melanie did not think that this is how her day would end. She wasn't running. In fact, she didn't have time to. She couldn't even respond to his logic. What the hell was running going to do? She hadn't even thought up a respond before being haphazardly hoisted over the man's shoulder. She gazed up to look behind him, only two see a blur of motion as the club behind them grew smaller and smaller. The violent jostling forced her to shut her eyes and block out the noise, which probably wasn't the best idea to do in this situation. Ludwig had taken off full speed ahead with no intent to slow down.

Between the wind rushing past her ears and Ludwig's laboured breaths, she could hear the same voice as if he was inside her head, tangling himself in her thoughts.

"You're not going to get very far." the voice said, forcing a whimper from her throat.

There was a car horn. Headlights. Gravel. In one full motion, her consciousness was pulled out from under her like a rug.

"You're mine."